Planning pages and comic influences, namely by Olivia Sullivan.
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https://issuu.com/grillustdropbox/docs/my_book
The Book in chronological order.
Going to have this as the cover for the comic.
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and the Dante’s inferno description of Satan.
Certain ideas are quite demoralizing. I listen to a south welsh artist occasional who goes simply as “Mr. Dee” and he said in one video a line which went something like “Never forget that in the final showdown of good verses evil, good will prevail”.
For some reason that day I really needed that. And so i decided to depict that in this page.
I’m not sure how much I can literally believe that stuff, I more believe that there’s something more abstract or symbolically true about it. Like a meta narrative. But enough on that.
I had to call it “Iwan’s lockdown Diary” in accordance to the task as far as I'm aware. But the subtitle “ashes” is my own.
Julius Evola wrote a book called “men amongst the ruins” about the worsening of society, from that title a series was born for an Artistic compilation series known as “ashes of civilization” which shows hour long compilation of clips from all over Europe and American which will make you lose faith in the world.
From these influences, for the past year if i saw something which made me lose faith in the world, I would always think, and they begin to say “Ashes”. It almost became a motto.
Considering the book coincides with that, and me becoming more cynical, and a kit of things changing for the worse. I thought the title was fitting.
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and the Dante’s inferno description of Satan.
Certain ideas are quite demoralizing. I listen to a south welsh artist occasional who goes simply as “Mr. Dee” and he said in one video a line which went something like “Never forget that in the final showdown of good verses evil, good will prevail”.
For some reason that day I really needed that. And so i decided to depict that in this page.
I’m not sure how much I can literally believe that stuff, I more believe that there’s something more abstract or symbolically true about it. Like a meta narrative. But enough on that.
I had to call it “Iwan’s lockdown Diary” in accordance to the task as far as I'm aware. But the subtitle “ashes” is my own.
Julius Evola wrote a book called “men amongst the ruins” about the worsening of society, from that title a series was born for an Artistic compilation series known as “ashes of civilization” which shows hour long compilation of clips from all over Europe and American which will make you lose faith in the world.
From these influences, for the past year if i saw something which made me lose faith in the world, I would always think, and they begin to say “Ashes”. It almost became a motto.
Considering the book coincides with that, and me becoming more cynical, and a kit of things changing for the worse. I thought the title was fitting.
Another page, this is a picture of me from late 2020. Man, time flies by.
The star is that of pentacles. The significance of that was outlined in a previous post.
The skull’s writing says “materialism”. It’s to do with the idea that once you die, that’s it. And that all there really is, is material possessions and things.
Then there’s. Little line of people.
I won’t disclose that.
Underneath is a picture of John Locke, I used to like a lot of classical liberal, enlightenment thinkers at that point in time and for many years prior.
The star is that of pentacles. The significance of that was outlined in a previous post.
The skull’s writing says “materialism”. It’s to do with the idea that once you die, that’s it. And that all there really is, is material possessions and things.
Then there’s. Little line of people.
I won’t disclose that.
Underneath is a picture of John Locke, I used to like a lot of classical liberal, enlightenment thinkers at that point in time and for many years prior.
This one is about the announcement of lockdowns, social distancing, anguish, contemplation, how i viewed people’s behavior during all this, my perception of time through this. And my distaste for the media.
It gives context and a good foundation for the rest of the comic, gives it the character to follow. Sets the tone. And hints at what sort of themes will be hit upon.
It gives context and a good foundation for the rest of the comic, gives it the character to follow. Sets the tone. And hints at what sort of themes will be hit upon.
Did you know that the suits of Tarot cards and playing cards were once one in the same?
And that they all symbolise the same thing.
The four classes. Merchants, Warriors, Peasants and Priests.
Hearing some philosophy about this of late has been interesting to me.
I don’t care to explain this first page too much. I fear it might be a bit controversial or crazy.
You know when the guy puts on the glasses in ‘They Live’.
And he sees the world far clearer, for what it is? There’s no going back after that. And if you told anyo-… I digress.
I think this page would summarise those thoughts well though.
All the map details and symbols which mean naught to those not in the know, perhaps with deeper implications weaved through.
The Alien Journalist on the top right corner looking out at you menacingly from a dark room.
And that they all symbolise the same thing.
The four classes. Merchants, Warriors, Peasants and Priests.
Hearing some philosophy about this of late has been interesting to me.
I don’t care to explain this first page too much. I fear it might be a bit controversial or crazy.
You know when the guy puts on the glasses in ‘They Live’.
And he sees the world far clearer, for what it is? There’s no going back after that. And if you told anyo-… I digress.
I think this page would summarise those thoughts well though.
All the map details and symbols which mean naught to those not in the know, perhaps with deeper implications weaved through.
The Alien Journalist on the top right corner looking out at you menacingly from a dark room.
This is about Machiavelli and Pareto’s ideas.
about wanting to return to a greater time.
About how mentally disconnected from everything I often feel.
About how alone i often feel here.
There’s a section there at the bottom left with a scissor cut out mark around Christian art and traditionalist work.
Unlike most people around me, I'm not too sure if it actually is good to live in a world without a unified traditional faith.
I often find myself wondering how nice it’d have been to know everyone on your street, town, county even had the same opinions. All that mattered was that you went to church, worked hard, supported the lord if he had been just (unlike how they’d become by the time of the French revolution)... and yea. Imagine how unified they’d have felt.
Anyways, even with the absence of Christianity, ideologies have just filled that gap anyways for the most part. Humans are probably naturally ‘religious’ creatures to some level.
I don’t think most of us are any wiser than people from previous eras, in-fact, our hubris likely means we’re far less wise.
about wanting to return to a greater time.
About how mentally disconnected from everything I often feel.
About how alone i often feel here.
There’s a section there at the bottom left with a scissor cut out mark around Christian art and traditionalist work.
Unlike most people around me, I'm not too sure if it actually is good to live in a world without a unified traditional faith.
I often find myself wondering how nice it’d have been to know everyone on your street, town, county even had the same opinions. All that mattered was that you went to church, worked hard, supported the lord if he had been just (unlike how they’d become by the time of the French revolution)... and yea. Imagine how unified they’d have felt.
Anyways, even with the absence of Christianity, ideologies have just filled that gap anyways for the most part. Humans are probably naturally ‘religious’ creatures to some level.
I don’t think most of us are any wiser than people from previous eras, in-fact, our hubris likely means we’re far less wise.
This page is meant to line up with page 2, so that if you were to tear out the scissor marked zone on page 2 or just turned the page. You would find a machine gun in a black box.
I feel like during my younger anti religious phase I would’ve said it’s Bout how religion breaks peoples apart and drives them to war. And you can still see it as that if you wish, but what it’d mean to me now is the opposite, if you tear religion out of a people, it creates a dark, threatening void that people will fight over until they can find a new faith or ideology to fill the gap with.
I have a small section i wrote to summarise my thoughts on that:
“From our emptiness will brew a storm which shall beg for purpose. Humans are naturally creatures of worship, be it ideology or faith”.
Julius Caesar is a reference to the fact I've been reading Thomas Carlyle a lot, especially his essays. Some of his ideas on hero worship are quite interesting to me.
It appears to me that many of these people we call heroes change depending on when we look at them.
During some eras, Julius Caesar is read as being a Tyrant who became dictator of Rome and stood in the way of democracy before even his closest adopted family had to kill him.
At other times, he’s read as a brave fighter and warrior who won many campaigns, instituted much needed reforms, cut out bureaucracy and refused Rome’s debts. Before being betrayed and murdered by jealous corrupt republican forces and brainwashed family members.
The storm and falling trees are meant to symbolize the storm I'd mentioned in the quote.
The overall point of this page is meant to talk about how in times of civil unrest and a breaking apart of social values does result in some form of backlash, and that backlash usually takes the form of either a heroic king or dictator, or a tyrannical king or dictator.
(Matter of perspective, I'm just stating the trend.)
I’d say here I'm not just talking about the country, I may be massively projecting myself as well, I too feel these questions of where to go in a time of such uncertainty.
I feel like during my younger anti religious phase I would’ve said it’s Bout how religion breaks peoples apart and drives them to war. And you can still see it as that if you wish, but what it’d mean to me now is the opposite, if you tear religion out of a people, it creates a dark, threatening void that people will fight over until they can find a new faith or ideology to fill the gap with.
I have a small section i wrote to summarise my thoughts on that:
“From our emptiness will brew a storm which shall beg for purpose. Humans are naturally creatures of worship, be it ideology or faith”.
Julius Caesar is a reference to the fact I've been reading Thomas Carlyle a lot, especially his essays. Some of his ideas on hero worship are quite interesting to me.
It appears to me that many of these people we call heroes change depending on when we look at them.
During some eras, Julius Caesar is read as being a Tyrant who became dictator of Rome and stood in the way of democracy before even his closest adopted family had to kill him.
At other times, he’s read as a brave fighter and warrior who won many campaigns, instituted much needed reforms, cut out bureaucracy and refused Rome’s debts. Before being betrayed and murdered by jealous corrupt republican forces and brainwashed family members.
The storm and falling trees are meant to symbolize the storm I'd mentioned in the quote.
The overall point of this page is meant to talk about how in times of civil unrest and a breaking apart of social values does result in some form of backlash, and that backlash usually takes the form of either a heroic king or dictator, or a tyrannical king or dictator.
(Matter of perspective, I'm just stating the trend.)
I’d say here I'm not just talking about the country, I may be massively projecting myself as well, I too feel these questions of where to go in a time of such uncertainty.
his one has a portrait of myself, a serpent going around a circle, paired with a bitten apple which represents garden of Eden.
Idea there being that we live in a fallen world, that perfection is impossible and we are doomed to some amount of tragedy.
The circle is filled with seasons and the circle of life. It’s a reference to the cyclical theory of history. Where certain people have tried to map out models of predicting the rise and fall and to know how far along we are (I think we’re coming out of autumn into winter sometime during my lifetime)
We have an unrecognizable woman and child contrasting with two bullets and a rifle next to it, the bullets having two name tags kept ambiguous from the viewer. Are these people who are being fought for or people to be shot?
It’s to remind the viewer of how dark the ‘winter’ really can be. What it means to be in the winter period. But also hits upon another note which is the internal question I have of “well, would I prefer such a thing (if it were to happen in my life now, or later. If it happens later, I may have a family of my own… how does that change things?”
So it’s meant to convey a lot of feelings of existential dread about the future.
The images in the bottom of great buildings and dates which signify the civilizations' construction of them is meant to show us how long running human history is, how we are not “post history” we will be someone else’s “10,000 BC” and our civilization will be gone by then too.
The two women are interesting figures to me but I probably don’t have enough space to talk about them here.
Overall theme of this page ~ Worrying about the future
Idea there being that we live in a fallen world, that perfection is impossible and we are doomed to some amount of tragedy.
The circle is filled with seasons and the circle of life. It’s a reference to the cyclical theory of history. Where certain people have tried to map out models of predicting the rise and fall and to know how far along we are (I think we’re coming out of autumn into winter sometime during my lifetime)
We have an unrecognizable woman and child contrasting with two bullets and a rifle next to it, the bullets having two name tags kept ambiguous from the viewer. Are these people who are being fought for or people to be shot?
It’s to remind the viewer of how dark the ‘winter’ really can be. What it means to be in the winter period. But also hits upon another note which is the internal question I have of “well, would I prefer such a thing (if it were to happen in my life now, or later. If it happens later, I may have a family of my own… how does that change things?”
So it’s meant to convey a lot of feelings of existential dread about the future.
The images in the bottom of great buildings and dates which signify the civilizations' construction of them is meant to show us how long running human history is, how we are not “post history” we will be someone else’s “10,000 BC” and our civilization will be gone by then too.
The two women are interesting figures to me but I probably don’t have enough space to talk about them here.
Overall theme of this page ~ Worrying about the future
Another page for the comic.
This one uses some cartography type illustrations. I found a map where all countries in Europe during world war one where given a symbolic image to explain their actions.
I thought I'd do this, but try to explain Individualism and collectivism using this method, however, this one is a bit collectivist biased. Purely because I’d only recently actually began to understand the counter arguments due to a writing by Oswald Spengler about ‘British mentalities’.
The comic is also the only intentionally humorous page in the book. It shows someone talking to me over a table, they’re talking about news, entertainment and bread. Then the next frame is me alone at the table, talking with wide eyes about these abstract concepts.
It’s about how If you surround yourself with things, it’s what you talk about. You struggle to talk about normal things. You talk about what you know.
It also has the line in there “bread and circuses” i didn’t think that needed explaining. But It apparently does.
There was a saying in Rome “give them bread and circuses. And they’ll never revolt” and I think that’s quite applicable today. We’re kept fat and distracted so we don’t realize how shallow everything has become.
That’s all I'll say on that matter. I’m here to explain myself not to proselytize.
The bottom of the page is is me looking out of a window with a blank expression juxtaposed with a city scape.
I think that’s about me feeing alone in a landscape that’s very alien. Not in some anguish or immense torment.
Just a quiet sadness.
I think this page would also let you psycho-analyze me a bit. I’ve read somewhere that feelings often dictate our opinions, and we only rationalize them afterwards to make sense of them.
Well, maybe i became more interested in collectivism out of a feeling that i was tired of feeling isolated? I’m not sure. I honestly couldn’t tell you.
There’s a line at the top
“People swap between individualist and collectivist principles without batting an eye”
I won’t say too much about what that means so i don’t sound to controversial.
I’ll leave that up to you.
This one uses some cartography type illustrations. I found a map where all countries in Europe during world war one where given a symbolic image to explain their actions.
I thought I'd do this, but try to explain Individualism and collectivism using this method, however, this one is a bit collectivist biased. Purely because I’d only recently actually began to understand the counter arguments due to a writing by Oswald Spengler about ‘British mentalities’.
The comic is also the only intentionally humorous page in the book. It shows someone talking to me over a table, they’re talking about news, entertainment and bread. Then the next frame is me alone at the table, talking with wide eyes about these abstract concepts.
It’s about how If you surround yourself with things, it’s what you talk about. You struggle to talk about normal things. You talk about what you know.
It also has the line in there “bread and circuses” i didn’t think that needed explaining. But It apparently does.
There was a saying in Rome “give them bread and circuses. And they’ll never revolt” and I think that’s quite applicable today. We’re kept fat and distracted so we don’t realize how shallow everything has become.
That’s all I'll say on that matter. I’m here to explain myself not to proselytize.
The bottom of the page is is me looking out of a window with a blank expression juxtaposed with a city scape.
I think that’s about me feeing alone in a landscape that’s very alien. Not in some anguish or immense torment.
Just a quiet sadness.
I think this page would also let you psycho-analyze me a bit. I’ve read somewhere that feelings often dictate our opinions, and we only rationalize them afterwards to make sense of them.
Well, maybe i became more interested in collectivism out of a feeling that i was tired of feeling isolated? I’m not sure. I honestly couldn’t tell you.
There’s a line at the top
“People swap between individualist and collectivist principles without batting an eye”
I won’t say too much about what that means so i don’t sound to controversial.
I’ll leave that up to you.
Another one down for the comic.
This one is about how I’ve over lockdown become quite obsessed with dressing in an old fashioned way, after having been influenced by a lot of old ideas.
And about how i went obsessed with old architecture like that of cathedrals. I found it really inspiring how generations upon generations would be building something, knowing they themselves would never see it complete. There’s something beautiful about that.
Other than that one in Spain, you really don’t see that sort of thing anymore.
There’s some text on it which reads
“I wish the world was more beautiful, we’d all be so happy”. This is about how I came to the idea that aesthetics are in part linked to mental health, and that beautiful environments to make people happier and more healthy to a mental capacity.
I feel like the page carries some ideas of discovering the beauty in the past, finding yourself, but also a bit of a loss. Because obviously i’m falling in love with romantic notions for a time that’s no longer here. It’a already dead.Another one down for the comic.
This one is about how I’ve over lockdown become quite obsessed with dressing in an old fashioned way, after having been influenced by a lot of old ideas.
And about how i went obsessed with old architecture like that of cathedrals. I found it really inspiring how generations upon generations would be building something, knowing they themselves would never see it complete. There’s something beautiful about that.
Other than that one in Spain, you really don’t see that sort of thing anymore.
There’s some text on it which reads
“I wish the world was more beautiful, we’d all be so happy”. This is about how i came to the idea that aesthetics are in part linked to mental health, and that beautiful environments to make people happier and more healthy to a mental capacity.
I feel like the page carries some ideas of discovering the beauty in the past, finding yourself, but also a bit of a loss. Because obviously i’m falling in love with romantic notions for a time that’s no longer here. It’a already dead.Another one down for the comic.
This one is about how I’ve over lockdown become quite obsessed with dressing in an old fashioned way, after having been influenced by a lot of old ideas.
And about how i went obsessed with old architecture like that of cathedrals. I found it really inspiring how generations upon generations would be building something, knowing they themselves would never see it complete. There’s something beautiful about that.
Other than that one in Spain, you really don’t see that sort of thing anymore.
There’s some text on it which reads
“I wish the world was more beautiful, we’d all be so happy”. This is about how i came to the idea that aesthetics are in part linked to mental health, and that beautiful environments to make people happier and more healthy to a mental capacity.
I feel like the page carries some ideas of discovering the beauty in the past, finding yourself, but also a bit of a loss. Because obviously i’m falling in love with romantic notions for a time that’s no longer here. It’a already dead.
Another page for the comic.
A half cup, half sword. Significance is related to tarot and esoteric things. A general change in temperament and values.
Changed from “Line go up” focused. To higher ideals related to the feeling of community, living in a more natural way.
Materialism in the last panel is replaced with a foggy picture of a cathedral. It’s to show my turn towards some form of agnosticism. I’m not sure what i’d properly call myself anymore. I’m far less certain.
The string of people have been replaced by one singular figure. The significance again, i won’t clarify.
A picture of an Italian philosopher I won’t name. If you know. You know.
And then at the bottom is some medieval art and a bouquet of roses. I want to keep the significance of that private as well.
It’s more fun to leave these things to interpretation often. And even with explaining a lot of these pages in these posts. The overall message of them strung together should also been left up to interpretation. I’m sure in a few years i’ll look back at a lot of these pages with different eyes.
And that makes the work more alive. There’s more interaction with it in your mind that just on a surface level. And it’s message can change.
A half cup, half sword. Significance is related to tarot and esoteric things. A general change in temperament and values.
Changed from “Line go up” focused. To higher ideals related to the feeling of community, living in a more natural way.
Materialism in the last panel is replaced with a foggy picture of a cathedral. It’s to show my turn towards some form of agnosticism. I’m not sure what i’d properly call myself anymore. I’m far less certain.
The string of people have been replaced by one singular figure. The significance again, i won’t clarify.
A picture of an Italian philosopher I won’t name. If you know. You know.
And then at the bottom is some medieval art and a bouquet of roses. I want to keep the significance of that private as well.
It’s more fun to leave these things to interpretation often. And even with explaining a lot of these pages in these posts. The overall message of them strung together should also been left up to interpretation. I’m sure in a few years i’ll look back at a lot of these pages with different eyes.
And that makes the work more alive. There’s more interaction with it in your mind that just on a surface level. And it’s message can change.
Last page (technically?)
It has the John Dee quote, a short blurb. My name.
And of course a towering giant skeleton holding an hour glass. Which i feel echoes some of the feelings of anxiety in the book.
The circle is a sort of motif on the back and cover in reference to the cycle of civilization.
Port merion is meant to be a positive thing to counter balance the skeleton.
The house with a lit window is a reference to my house in Carlisle where i began sketching the book, late into the nights. Changed the orientation around a bit and the roof style for compositional reasons and because it makes the house looks like a tombstone that the skeleton is lurking behind. Giving a spookier feeing to it. At least in my mind anyways.
It has the John Dee quote, a short blurb. My name.
And of course a towering giant skeleton holding an hour glass. Which i feel echoes some of the feelings of anxiety in the book.
The circle is a sort of motif on the back and cover in reference to the cycle of civilization.
Port merion is meant to be a positive thing to counter balance the skeleton.
The house with a lit window is a reference to my house in Carlisle where i began sketching the book, late into the nights. Changed the orientation around a bit and the roof style for compositional reasons and because it makes the house looks like a tombstone that the skeleton is lurking behind. Giving a spookier feeing to it. At least in my mind anyways.